The present invention generally relates to assemblies used for mounting electronic components onto the rack of an electronic device.
In various electronic components, especially in telecommunication equipment, electrically conductive systems are intended to provide shielding against electromagnetic interference (EMI). Face plates are typically used in rack-mounted telecommunication equipment for EMI shielding as described above.
Conventionally, face plates have been made primarily from metallic plates, and have printed circuit boards (PCBs) mounted onto their interior surface using screws. Face plates also have attachment hardware such as latches and captive screws that are used to mount the faceplate-PCB assembly to a rack. The screws, generally located at the top and bottom of the assembly, are captive and often have a spring to facilitate assembly and disassembly. Due to the limitations of the metal face plate manufacturing technology, the captive screws have to be supplied with a standoff to provide an apparatus and method of attachment for the screw-spring assembly to the faceplate. The standoff is press-fit into a hole drilled in the metal faceplate and retained on the faceplate.
While these conventional technologies work, the complexity of manufacture is generally high. Further, the use of multiple parts required makes it inconvenient and complicated to use for actual mounting. The above inconveniences further increase both the cost of manufacturing as well as the cost of using such assemblies.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved assembly system for mounting a face plate to a rack that overcomes the above mentioned limitations of conventional methods and assemblies.